McFrederick, Arrows pointed toward another breakthrough

Ashland senior Leif McFrederick sets the school record, while the team is poised for big finish to the boys cross country season.

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Ashland’s Leif McFrederick (left) runs in the boys Division I race at Amann’s Reservoir Park at the Galion Cross Country Festival, finishing fifth in a school record time of 15:46.
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Ashland’s Leif McFrederick set the school record at Galion with a 15:46.

Ashland’s boys are ranked 16th in the Division I state coaches poll.

The Arrows have won four of the last five OCC championships in cross country.

Leif McFrederick’s breakthrough moment might have been in the middle of September, but for Ashland boys cross country coach Brock Weaver, it came much earlier for his standout runner.

“It started clicking this past track season. There was this moment where you see an athlete cross over and it becomes something more than just something to do. They realize what they have to do and where they can go with it. You can see that mentality and the kind of work he puts in,” Weaver said.

McFrederick became the fastest cross country runner in Ashland High School history when he timed a 15:46 at the Galion Cross Country Festival earlier this year, finishing fifth in the boys Division I race.

“It doesn’t stop,” McFrederick said of the goals. “I know there’s a possibility I may not get down to this time again, but with the coaching we’ve had and the races I’ve had and the training has been so great, I just know that I don’t have anything to be worried about going forward.”

McFrederick and his fellow Arrows are pointed toward this Saturday’s Ohio Cardinal Conference Cross Country Championships at Orrville where they have won four of the last five team championships. Ashland is ranked 16th in the latest state coaches poll in Division I, and the team will be pushed by third-ranked Division II Lexington.

“They have an idea of where they should race based on their teammates and the way they train,” Weaver said. “When they get in a race we try to tell them to find this guy. There is a level of expectation that I train with this guy so I need to find this guy in the race. That’s what we do every day and then on race day it’s just an extension of that and it comes naturally.”

The conference meet kicks off the most important time of the season with districts, regionals and state following over the next month.

The team goals are to win the league, repeat as district champs, improve on a fourth place at regionals and do better than last place at state like last season.

“I was upset with myself because I sort of let them down. I definitely learned so much. They got the experience,” Weaver said.

Ashland peaked for districts and regionals a year ago, just happy to qualify for state at National Trail Raceway in Kirkersville.

This year Weaver has been giving his top runners like McFrederick, Owen Smith, Edmund Coleman and Andrew Stump races off to save their legs and keep them fresh for the stretch run of the season.

“We know that we need to run well in six weeks. It doesn’t matter what we do in the next two weeks,” Weaver said following the Galion meet.

Though they’re given selected meets off, the guys are still running seven days a week, running among themselves even on Sundays.

“We’re all here to do well and that’s where it starts,” McFrederick said. “The coaches set the expectation, but they’re not overbearing with it. They know we’re going to work as hard as we can. As a pack, we have high expectations.”

McFrederick’s breakthrough came in track and showed up in Galion. The Arrows are hopeful last year’s unexpected state trip is a similar kind of springboard that shows up over the next month.

“As a team we did not have a good race at state last year,” Weaver said. “I know we all want to go back and redeem that.

“It’s super mental and one of those things where you have trouble believing what you can do and one time you go out and do it. After that point, you just go do it again.”